Programs of Study:

Graduate programs leading to the Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology are offered by Medical Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington. The primary objective of these graduate programs is to train independent research investigators who can make contributions to their fields of knowledge while working in academic or government institutions or in industry laboratories. The programs stress the relationship between structure and function in health and disease. Opportunities for interactions with faculty and students in the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, Programs in Biochemistry and Neural Science, the Indiana Molecular Biology Institute, the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, and the Indiana University Proteomics Research and Development Facility. These and other units on the Bloomington campus provide an environment that offers an unusually stimulating combination of courses, research projects, and teaching experience related to the many facets of both basic and applied medical sciences. The Medical Sciences Program is part of the Indiana University School of Medicine, and students enrolled in the first two years of medical school on the Bloomington campus may, by extending their program of study, concurrently fulfill the requirements for a graduate degree

Requirements for the Ph.D. and M.A. or M.S. degrees are described in the Graduate Bulletin

Medical Sciences also provides medical students with the opportunity to pursue graduate studies leading to the combined M.D./Ph.D. degree. The program leading to the M.D. degree is administered by the School of Medicine and the Ph.D.  degree program is offered by the University Graduate School. A coordinated flexible schedule provides a basis for advanced study and research in a specific field. Close personal faculty guidance is provided in the preclinical curriculum,  which is adjustable to the background, needs, and special interests of each student. The student may complete the requirements for an advanced research degree prior to, concurrent with, or upon completion of the clinical years of medicine

Full-Time Study

Ordinarily, students shall be considered full time if they are registered for 8 hours of credit (4 credit hours during each summer session) and their programs of study meet with the approval of the departments. Courses taken as an auditor may not be counted in the definition of "full-time study"; however, courses taken to remove undergraduate deficiencies for admission may be counted.

Students holding appointments as associate instructors, graduate assistants, or research assistants must ordinarily be registered for 6 credit hours during each full semester and 3 credit hours (4 credit hours in the case of 4-credit courses) during the summer session to be considered full time. They may count work required by their appointments toward computation of full-time graduate work. In departments where workloads are different in the first and second semesters, the student's registration for the two semesters combined must total at least 12 credit hours.

For academic purposes, the University Graduate School will consider as full-time certain students who are exceptions to the above definitions: M.A., M.S., and LL.M. candidates whose completed courses and deferred thesis credits total 30 hours; M.F.A. candidates whose completed courses and deferred thesis credits total 60 hours; and Ph.D. students whose completed courses and deferred dissertation credits total 90 hours, providing they are working on theses or dissertations for the completion of the degree. Such students, however, must enroll in at least one hour of graduate credit each semester. For master's candidates, such enrollment will be limited to the five-year period allowed for completion of the master's degree; this enrollment for doctoral candidates will be limited to the seven-year period after passing the qualifying examination. Students who have already accumulated 90 or more hours of graduate credit and who hold university-administered student appointments as associate instructors, graduate assistants, or research assistants amounting to at least 0.375 FTE (15 hours per week workload) will be required to enroll for at least 6 hours of credit during each semester they continue to hold an appointment. Such hours will be charged at the allocated fee rate.

Students may take no more than 16 hours of credit in any semester nor more than a total of 16 credit hours in all the summer sessions in any one year without permission of their graduate advisor. Students who are employed are advised to take into account the demands that such activities make on their time and to reduce their course loads accordingly.

Continuing Enrollment For PhD Students

Students who have passed the qualifying examination must enroll each semester (excluding summer sessions) for any remaining required course work or dissertation credits. Once such students have accumulated 90 credit hours in completed course work and deferred dissertation credits, they must enroll for a minimum of 1 hour of graduate credit each semester until the degree is completed. Failure to meet this requirement will automatically terminate the student's enrollment in the degree program. Students who have completed 90 credit hours and all requirements for the Ph.D. are eligible to enroll in G901 for a flat fee of $150 per semester. Enrollment in G901 is limited to a total of six semesters. (For students not on campus, enrollment may be completed by mail.)

A candidate who will be graduated in June, July, or August of any year must enroll in a minimum of 1 hour of credit as described above in either the current or the immediately preceding summer session

FINANCIAL AID AND COST OF STUDY:

Most doctoral students are supported by teaching assistantships, which provide a stipend for living expenses plus fee remission to cover tuition expenses for a maximum of twelve hours each semester and 6 hours for summer sessions. This aid is available throughout their graduate careers. All full-time graduate students who have teaching assistantships are covered by a comprehensive health insurance plan. Low-cost supplements are available offering coverage of spouses and unmarried dependent children. Teaching assistantships require a maximum of 20 hours of teaching-related duties per week and generally involve serving as undergraduate laboratory instructors. In addition to financial aid, these positions provide invaluable experience for students contemplating academic careers. In addition, research assistantships, fellowships, or traineeships may be available to highly qualified applicants. Every effort is made to find financial aid for qualified graduate students.

International students whose native language is not English must pass an English proficiency examination administered by the University in order to be eligible for a teaching assistantship. This test is given on-site at the beginning of the first semester, and generally more than one taking is required before a student's language skills are deemed adequate to serve in a teaching capacity. Because of this we are generally unable to offer financial assistance for international applicants to begin graduate study in our program.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND APPLICATIONS PROCEDURES:

Information on admission requirements, application materials and procedures, and other important information may be found on the application information page.